Present collaborating activities of WHO Collaborating Centre for Immunotoxicology hosted by RIVM. The focus of our Collaborating Centre is on immune effects of nanoparticles.

Environmental Health Criteria Document

In consultation with WHO/IPCS headquarters the Collaborating Centre will produce an Environmental Health Criteria Document, with the working title “Principles and Methods for Assessing Immunotoxicity associated with Exposure to Nanoparticles “. The document will describe the state of the art nano-immunotoxicology, give statements on how immunotoxicity of nanoparticles can be identified and how the risk of various immune effects can be estimated, given the exposure. Finally, the document will identify knowledge gaps and make recommendations for priorities in the research field.

International expert group

To achieve such a document, an international expert group is to be set up, consisting of key individuals in the field of nanomaterials, immunotoxicityand risk assessment. The composition of such a group will have to be done carefully in order to have the necessary expertise available, such as the pertaining to physical-chemical characteristics of nanoparticles, the kinetics, the interactions with the immune system, as well as the practice of the immunoassay toxicology such as that is now occurring and developing. In this group, RIVM scientists may participate in addition to other international experts.

The process of manufacturing an EHCD is as follows: a core group of authors is made in consultation with WHO/IPCS and a scoping meeting will develop an initial outline for the document. Guided by that outline, these authors and possibly additional authors where necessary, will provide the various chapters. In one or more follow-up meetings, the texts provided will be discussed and integrated with the aim to achieve product that is useful in practice for regulators and policy makers in particular. The result will then be tested in a public consultation as well as a meeting with regulators and policy makers from different regions.